George II of Imereti

George II of Imereti (1545-1585) was King of Imereti from 1565 to 1585, succeeding Bagrat III and preceding Levan.

Biography
George Bagration was born in 1545, the son of King Bagrat III of Imereti. Upon ascending to the throne in 1565, he was involved in a civil war with the princes of western Georgia, and he sided with Prince Giorgi II Gurieli against Prince Levan I Dadiani. In 1568, he defeated Levan at Ianeti and conquered Mingrelia; however, Levan was restored with Ottoman support and forced Gurieli to sue for peace. The two princes then allied against the King, and, while George repelled the Ottoman general Lala Mustafa Pasha's invasion in 1578, he was forced to submit to the Sultan. In 1581, he invaded Kartli, whose ruler Simon I of Kartli waged a relentless guerrilla war against the Turks, and he died in 1585.